“The head of the Metropolitan Police Sir Ian Blair is due to speak at an Islamic conference where Hizb ut Tahrir is advocating its extremist Caliphate message. Sir Ian is one of several dhimmis lined up to speak at the Global Peace and Unity Conference taking place at London’s Dockside this coming weekend. The Met is an official sponsor of the event along with the London Mayor’s Office, The Islam Channel and the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). Sharing the platform over the two day event will be MPs including George Galloway, Lord Chancellor Jack Straw and Acting LibDem leader Vincent Cable.”
Aussie Tories’ vile race tactics exposed
The Liberal Party has been hugely embarrassed over a campaign team caught delivering fake letters linking Labor with the Bali bombers. The grubby night-time operation in St Marys, in the seat of Lindsay, was busted by a squad of ALP sleuths who conducted a stake-out.
The letter appeared to be from a Muslim organisation, the Islamic Australia Federation. But the organisation does not exist.
The fictitious group was said to be backing Kevin Rudd because Labor supported forgiveness for “our Muslim brothers who have been unjustly sentenced to death for the Bali bombings”. It also said Labor endorsed construction of a mosque in St Marys. “In the upcoming federal election we strongly support the ALP as our preferred party to govern this country and urge all other Muslims to do the same,” the letter read.
It was clumsily worded and ended with “Ala Akba”, a dismal attempt at the traditional Islamic salute of “God is Great” – “Allah Akbar”.
Daily Telegraph, 21 November 2007
See also “Fake flyer meant as a joke: Lib MP”, ABC News, 21 November 2007
‘Let’s stop handling Islam with kid gloves’
“The failed action West Midlands police took against a Channel 4 programme exposing extremist Islamic preachers highlights our dysfunctional attitude to free speech…. The job of the police is to uphold the law but, deeming no law had been broken, they instead decided to be media watchdogs. They stepped wildly beyond their remit here.
“I think they did so in a public effort to seem sensitive to the Muslim community, which is apparently ‘demonised’ by the media (according to last week’s farcical report commissioned by Ken Livingstone). On the contrary: Islam is treated with kid gloves in Britain…. The police shouldn’t exceed their powers when addressing discussion of Islam. It only legitimises the misplaced sense of victimisation that extremists exploit in instances where they have no cause for complaint.”
Nirpal Dhaliwal (writing from another planet, apparently) in the Evening Standard, 21 November 2007
Martin Amis’s views demand a response
The anti-Muslim bigotry of one of Britain’s most famous novelists have been challenged at last. Kamila Shamsie applauds Ronan Bennett and Terry Eagleton for taking on Martin Amis.
Muslims back police in Channel 4 row
A senior British Muslim last night defended West Midlands Police from fierce criticism after it attempted to discredit a TV documentary exposing Islamic extremism in Birmingham. The force was accused by Channel 4 bosses of “staggering naivety” for referring an episode of the flagship documentary Dispatches to media watchdog Ofcom.
Police claimed the programme, Undercover Mosque, misrepresented the views of Muslim clerics in the city and undermined community cohesion and safety. But Ofcom yesterday ruled the documentary was “a legitimate investigation” and “found no evidence that the broadcaster had misled the audience”.
Channel 4 bosses and opposition politicians condemned West Midlands Police, with the broadcaster describing the force’s actions as “perverse” and giving, in some people’s eyes, “legitimacy to people preaching a message of hate”.
However, Tahir Alam, assistant secretary for the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “I think the police acted responsibly by investigating within the current context. There is an unhealthy focus on the Muslim community and coverage has been very unfriendly. It was not the first such programme to pursue a similar line of inquiry. These kind of irresponsible programmes damage community relations. Yes, there is freedom of the press, but that is no reason to target a select community in this way.
Ofcom rules against ‘Undercover Mosque’
As had been leaked in advance, Ofcom has rejected complaints made by West Midlands Police, the London Central Mosque and the Saudi embassy over the notorious Channel 4 documentary Undercover Mosque. (Ofcom did however uphold a complaint about George Galloway’s Talk Sport radio programme. So you can see a sort of consistency here.)
Ofcom’s ruling has met with the approval of the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph, the British National Party, Jihad Watch, Harry’s Place and the Lib Dems (whose reputation as friends of the Muslim community – based mainly on the fact that they opposed the Iraq war for a couple of months before the invasion was actually launched – is looking increasingly threadbare).
Meanwhile over at the Spectator Melanie Phillips is calling for the West Midlands Police themselves to be investigated.
Martin Amis and the new racism
“Amis’s views are symptomatic of a much wider and deeper hostility to Islam and intolerance of otherness. Only last week, the London Evening Standard felt able to sponsor a debate entitled: Is Islam good for London? Do another substitution here and imagine the reaction had Judaism been the subject. As Rabbi Pete Tobias noted on Comment is Free, the so-called debate was sinisterly reminiscent of the paper’s campaign a century ago to alert its readers to the ‘problem of the alien’, namely the eastern European Jews fleeing persecution who had found refuge in the capital. In this context, Rod Liddle’s contribution to proceedings – ‘Islamophobia? Count me in’ – sounds neither brave, brash nor provocatively outrageous, merely racist. Those who claim that Islamophobia can’t be racist, because Islam is a religion not a race, are fooling themselves: religion is not only about faith but also about identity, background and culture, and Muslims are overwhelmingly non-white. Islamophobia is racist, and so is antisemitism.”
Brilliant piece by Ronan Bennett in the Guardian, 19 November 2007
Global Peace & Unity event, 24-25 November
Images of Muslims: discussing Islamophobia with Peter Gottschalk
Peter Gottschalk, co-author with Gabriel Greenberg of the recently published study Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, is interviewed by Political Affairs.
See also The Wesleyan Connection.
Hijab-wearing girl blocked from judo match
WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s sport minister has ordered the agency that governs provincial sports to review a decision that banned an 11-year-old girl from a judo tournament because she wore a Muslim head scarf. “I’ve asked Sport Manitoba to become engaged here and find out what the deal is and come to a resolution in short order,” Eric Robinson told the Winnipeg Free Press yesterday.
Hagar Outbih left a judo tournament in tears Saturday when judo officials in Winnipeg refused to let her fight while wearing the hijab. The girl said she couldn’t believe sports officials would ban her because she wore a head scarf. Safety, not religious reasons, determined the decision, said Judo Manitoba president Dave Minuk. “It could be used to strangle somebody,” he said.